Three armed postal workers at the same station independently decide to launch a killing spree -- and spend time arguing over who has the right to start shooting. An armed robber bursts into the post office where the three are waving their guns at terrified patrons. The three postal workers shoot the robber, and are hailed as heroes.
That was the premise of a MADtv comedy sketch broadcast this past weekend. The sketch, which ran only about two minutes, generated a week's worth of yelping from various postal workers' unions. And the yelps started before the sketch had aired.
This overreaction is nothing new. Whether it was the video game “Going Postal” or any number of flippant editorial remarks, when unflattering pop culture references to mail handlers surface, the unions activate their letter-writing brigades. And they almost always end up looking silly.
I’ve been in a union, and I usually support labor causes. But if the letter-carrier unions’ powers-that-be feel satire – even weak, trite, clichéd satire – represents members’ most pressing concern, postal workers are in better shape than most professions. Waitresses spend just as much time on their feet – and their benefits packages aren’t nearly as good.
It’s not as if the MADtv characterization was made entirely out of whole cloth. The sheer number of people that process mail means the service has and will attract its share of loose cannons. I was one myself. During college I briefly worked behind the counter at the university mail center. Admittedly, I was limited to delivering intra-campus mail: I stuffed a lot of mailboxes with a lot of cafeteria daily special notices.
And let’s face it, based on past events temperament screening for postal workers doesn't seem to have been as rigorous as it is for, say, schoolteachers. I’m glad for this. If I had been taught by educators with less-than-even dispositions, I never would have made it out of the eighth grade alive.
Given the need to fill space, sooner or later most occupations are going to bear the brunt of being mocked. I’m actually rather chagrined that my current profession does not lend itself as easily to jokes. The only print reporter gag I could come up with was:
Q: How many print reporters does it take to screw in a light blub?
A: In the setup to this joke, the words “light bulb” were misspelled. We regret the error.
My own complaint with the MADtv piece is one of substance, not topic. Psychotic postal workers are an easy way out for a humorist. Want satire? The next time the USPS runs a deficit, some smart-assed columnist is going to note that Kevin Costner’s movie “The Postman” was one of the biggest box-office flops of all time, and observe “Even in fiction, these guys can’t turn a profit.”
Readers are welcome, as always, to send me their reactions. But before dashing off a note with a strident tone, be forewarned:
I’m a former postal worker.
To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com
